"They were making 'Swiss Army Man'," Zhao recalls, reports Variety.
"To be able to reunite with them and see that they have been able to stay as authentic as when I first met them 10 years ago and the world embracing them, it's so beautiful to watch."
I recently caught up with Zhao, who became the second woman ever and first woman of colour to win best director at the Oscars for 'Nomadland' in 2021, ahead of this year's big night.
She's teamed up with Johnnie Walker on First Strides, an initiative that has provided more than $1 million to women's organisations such as IFundWomen and She Should Run since its launch a year ago.
The Johnnie Walker programme is part of Friday's Women in Film pre-Oscars event in Hollywood, providing free 30-day trials to MUBI to encourage people to watch more women-made films.
"I joined Johnnie Walker to not only celebrate but to create support for women filmmakers and women-made films," Zhao said.
Controversy erupted when the 2023 Oscar nominations were announced and no women were named in the race for best director.
"There's clearly a very big gap for women filmmakers in our industry," Zhao said.
The 'Eternals' director said Hollywood needs to do a better job at increasing the visibility of women who are nominated for awards and funding more women-led projects.
"We're not doing it for awards, but that does help for the longevity of careers," she said.
Zhao also wants to see more women creatives in sci-fi.
"The genre inspires the next generation and young people to be scientists one day," she said, adding "What we do in sci-fi right now really helps raise our technology because the people that are watching those stories will become the scientists who create the technology for our future." Los Angeles, March 11 (IANS)